


to court

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Courtship, Multi, No Beta, We Die Like Men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 09:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25468630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: two times someone has asked for permission to court zuko
Relationships: Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 253





	to court

For this conversation, it wasn’t necessary to go into the throne room. There was a smaller, more intimate throne room that was reserved for matters more closely related to the royal family. The more personal issues, that is. 

The guards pushed open the door, and Mai walked in, her eyes already trained towards the ground. She knew how this went, had been trained in this both as a child, when her parents first noticed her blush in regards to the prince, and the second he’d returned, honor restored, her mother had made sure to remind her of the proper protocol. 

When Mai made it to the front, still an appropriate distance from Fire Lord Ozai, she knelt, bringing her forehead close to the ground. Submissive, loyal, obedient. 

“Lady Mai,” he said. Spirits, his voice was terrifying. Not that Mai would ever acknowledge the fear she felt when hearing him speak. Still in her dreams, she can hear his words to Zuko, before he burned his face. “You may rise.”

Mai raises her head from the ground, but stays on the ground, her eyes still averted. 

A silence filled the room, and the flames stayed mellow. She could only hope they stay that way. 

“My daughter mentioned you had a request, Lady Mai. Please, speak freely.”

Mai isn’t dumb enough to think that she can actually speak freely. “I would like to begin courting Crown Prince Zuko, and prove myself worthy.”

Another silence. Mai knew that this request wasn’t a surprise. Mai also knew that the Fire Lord thrives in the discomfort of others, especially if that discomfort would upset his son. 

Mai tried not to get angry about that. She could throw knives at a dummy tonight, after. 

And maybe imagine the dummy looks like a certain Fire Lord. Not that she’d ever tell anyone this. 

“Prince Zuko has only just had his honor restored,” Ozai said. “But I imagine a courtship might motivate him to behave accordingly.”

Mai heard what was unsaid: if Zuko steps out of line, Ozai can end the courtship. 

She kept her mouth shut. It isn’t her place to speak. 

“And your parents, Lady Mai? Would they approve of you courting a recently banished prince?”

“They would be honored at this opportunity, Your Majesty.”

“I’m sure they would,” Ozai said. She could hear the humor in his voice. “I approve.” 

Mai let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, though she ensured she did so silently. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The Fire Lord let out a small hum, and dismissed her. Mai stood, bowed, eyes still trained to the floor. She’d expected more questioning, more effort on her part to prove her worth. This was the crown prince they were talking about. 

But then again, Mai thought, as she hurried to the gardens where Zuko was no doubt anxiously waiting, Ozai could care less about his son. He’d scarred his child’s face, and sent him to chase a ghost. He’d probably never expected to have a conversation that had to do with his son and courtship. 

She made it to the garden, where Zuko was sitting by the pond, bread being handed out to the turtleducks. He looked up when she entered, and the anxiousness was evident on his face. Mai gave him a gentle smile. 

The smile on his face was bright and joyful, almost as bright as Agni himself. 

Mai sat next to him, curled up to his side. The continued to quietly feed the turtleducks. 

As she leaned her head on his shoulder, and he hummed an old tavern song he no doubt had learned from his time on the ship, Mai decided that it didn’t matter if the Fire Lord didn’t care about his son. Mai cared. So, so much. 

She just hoped it was enough. 

—

Sokka had spent too much time in the library studying courtship rituals. He of course knew Water Tribe rituals. Those were told in their songs and stories, passed down from generation to generation, told to children as they huddled around the fire. 

But Fire Nation courtships? Sokka had no idea. He knew, from talking to Mai and Ty Lee, that the person in the lower rank had to ask the parent of the higher rank for permission to court. Gender wasn’t what mattered here, unlike the Water Tribes. It was all about power. 

Truly, nothing was more surprising than learning that. 

But how was he supposed to ask for permission? Was he supposed to bring gifts? How do you ask to court the Fire Lord? 

Mai sat next to him in the library. It was raining, Zuko was in meetings, and Sokka really just wanted to figure this out so he could take the other man on a date. It also didn’t help that Iroh’s visit to the Fire Nation was coming to an end, and if Sokka was going to need to ask permission, he didn’t want to have to travel all the way to Ba Sing Se to do so. 

“Why do I have to ask permission anyways?” Sokka said. He would later deny that he whined. 

“It’s tradition,” Mai said. “At least you don’t have to ask his father.”

Sokka shuddered. She had him there. 

“I told you to just ask Iroh. You could ask him over tea.”

Sokka sighed. “But I want to get this right. Follow the rules. All of that.”

Mai looked at him, an appraising look in her eye. “I think that’s very genuine. But, I would like to think I know Zuko well. And Zuko would much rather you just ask, get permission, and then take him to dinner without it becoming a huge scandal.”

Sokka frowned, looking at all of the notes he took. “So do the rules not matter at all?”

Mai picked at her nails. “We’ll worry about the rules when it comes to the betrothal, alright?”

And that’s how Sokka found himself drinking tea and playing pai sho with Iroh. Zuko was still in meetings and it was still raining. That didn’t seem to damper Iroh’s mood, and Sokka was too nervous to really care about anything. He couldn’t even taste the tea. 

“Is something on your mind, Sokka?” Iroh asked. 

“Uh,” Sokka said, before moving a piece. He didn’t even know if that was a good move. “Yes?”

Iroh hmm’d. “And is it something I can help you with?”

Which of course Iroh knew Sokka had asked for tea for a reason. Sokka adores Iroh, but he doesn’t usually initiate tea with the guy, especially without Zuko present. 

“Well, the thing is,” Sokka’s mouth felt dry all of the sudden, and he quickly took a sip of the tea. Still couldn’t taste the flavor. “The thing is, I’d like to, uh…”

Iroh patiently stared at him, a smile on his face. Sokka realized the man definitely knew what he was about to ask. The bastard. 

“I was hoping to receive your blessing, or, uh, approval, to begin dating… uh, courting Zu- Fire Lord Zuko?” Well, that was a disaster. 

The older man’s smile grew. “Ah, what an excellent match you two would be! You know, he’s been researching Water Tribe courtship rituals.”

Sokka’s eyes widened. “He has? But I’ve been researching Fire Nation ones!” Sokka rubbed the back of his neck. “And I know this is usually a more formal conversation and uh, because he’s Fire Lord and all that, I’m supposed to do these different steps, but Mai said-“

“Sokka,” Iroh gently interrupted. Sokka stopped. “This was perfect. Thank you for asking. I, of course, approve.” Sokka blushed, and Iroh patted his shoulder. “Zuko should be getting out of his meeting soon. You should go and let him know of the good news.”

Sokka smiled and stood, before quickly doing a small bow. “Thank you, Iroh. I won’t let you or Zuko down.”

The old general smiled. “Oh, I don’t doubt that.”

As Sokka ran off to woo the Fire Lord, Iroh let himself relax. What fantastic news! His nephew, in a courtship with Sokka, a truly honorable and kind man. 

He smiled, that is, until he realized that Ozai had assuredly never given Zuko the… talk. And if Ozai had never… well, spirits, that meant that Iroh needed to…

Iroh groaned. He’d need to brew quite a bit of calming tea for his talk with his nephew tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this on my phone when i should’ve been sending emails for work but oh well!


End file.
